This chapter is from the book

This chapter is from the book

Using Playback Controls in the Capture Panel

Once device control is set up, you can control a camera or deck from the Capture panel. Although most of the Capture panel's controls should be familiar to you, they're still worth reviewing (Figure 3.17).

Figure 3.17 The Capture panel includes buttons for controlling the connected DV camcorder or deck.

There are also a few buttons you won't find on other tape players: most notably, buttons to cue the tape to a scene, or cut—that is, the point at which the camera stopped and restarted recording. As you'll see later in this chapter, the Scene Detect feature not only makes it possible to quickly find different shots on the tape but also lets you capture an entire tape automatically—each shot becomes a separate clip.

You can also enter timecode numbers to set the current frame, In point, Out point, or duration.

To cue a tape to a scene break:

In the Capture panel, do either of the following:

To cue to the previous cut point on the tape, click the Previous Scene button.

To cue to the next cut point on the tape, click the Next Scene button (Figure 3.18).

Figure 3.18 Cue to cut points on the tape by clicking the Previous Scene or Next Scene button (shown here).

The tape cues to the cut point you specified.

To cue a tape to a specified timecode:

In the Capture panel, click the current time display, enter a valid timecode number, and press Enter (Figure 3.19).

Figure 3.19 You can also cue to a particular timecode number by clicking the current time display, entering the number, and pressing Enter.

The tape cues to the frame you specified.

TIPs

When the tape is stopped, the play head is no longer engaged, so that it rewinds and fast-forwards faster but doesn't scan the tape. Instead, the Capture panel displays the last frame you viewed until you engage the play head again by using another playback control.

Many cameras and decks enter a standby mode after several minutes of inactivity and disengage the play head so as not to unnecessarily wear the tape.

Timecode

DV video is encoded with a signal called timecode that counts frames of video in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames. Timecode counts 30 frames per second (fps), from 0 up to 23:59;59;29, or just under one day. (Of course, widely available miniDV tapes for cameras are only 60 minutes in length, although 80-minute tapes are available.)

Timecode provides an absolute address for each frame of video—that is, each frame has a unique and unchanging number. Contrast that to the counter numbers found on some home VHS players, which merely count from any point and can be reset at any time.

Video professionals like timecode because it lets them identify each scene with a number and capture the footage they want automatically or repeatedly. But even amateurs can appreciate timecode. For example, when you have a lot of footage, you may want to create a paper log of shots with their corresponding timecode numbers. Using controls in the Capture panel, you can cue the tape to the exact points you want.